By Godfrey Bivbere &  Chigoziri Onuoha

MANAGING Director of Bonntex Nigeria Limited, Chief Boniface Okoye, has said that the deplorable state of the Apapa Port access road will make it impossible for the recent directive by the Acting President on 24 hours port operations to be realised. Okoye observed that even if all the cargo clearing processes in the ports were perfect, the roads would still hinder smooth port operations.

Recall that Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, last month, issued an executive order directing the resumption of 24-hour operations at the Apapa port and outrightly banned touting by officials or unofficial persons at any port; be it air, land and sea ports in Nigeria. Okoye further noted that despite the huge sums generated from the ports annually, government failed to fix the access road over the years until it got to its present deplorable condition.

Already, Dangote Group, Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc and other private businesses frustrated by the government dereliction of responsibility on the port’s access road have undertaken to fund the reconstruction of the road at a cost of over N4.0 billion.